Coherence and Cohesion in English Discourse

3 Discourse markers under investigation: Conjuncts
Conjuncts – conceived here as discourse markers (cf. “signposts on a 
journey” in Leech and Svartvik’s understanding of 2002: 187) – signal a 
relationship between the possible interpretation of discourse segments, i.e. the 
segment they introduce and are part of and the prior, not necessarily immediately 
adjacent discourse segment (Fraser 1999), thus clearly facilitating the reader’s 
interpretation and understanding of the message (Schiffrin 1987). Conjuncts 
also contribute substantially to the readability of texts because a text is usually 
processed faster and more easily if the relationships between its parts are signalled 
explicitly (cf. e.g. Haberlandt 1982).
By overtly instructing the reader(s) on how the author intends the message 
that follows to relate to the prior discourse and by conveying logical linkage 
between ideas expressed in the texts, conjuncts perform important text-organizing 
functions and thus contribute to the establishing of cohesion (Halliday and Hasan 
1976). The cohesive role of conjuncts is highlighted, for example, by Leech and 
Svartvik (2002) when they state that these words or phrases are used to help 
listeners or readers understand “how one idea leads on from another” (ibid.: 
187). Conjuncts included in Halliday and Hasan (1976) among ‘conjunctive 
elements’ “are cohesive not in themselves but indirectly, by virtue of their 
specific meanings” (ibid.: 226). They are often mentioned in connection with 
the concept of ‘metadiscourse’ (Hyland 2005), which is concerned with ‘writer-
reader interactions’ and the aim to produce “coherent prose in particular social 
contexts” (ibid.: ix).
Apart from establishing cohesion, conjuncts enhance the reader’s interpretation 
of the message ideally in harmony with the current author’s communicative 
intentions and also foster the establishing and maintaining of coherence, which 
is understood here as “the result of the interpretation process” (Tanskanen 2006: 
20) and a dynamic hearer/reader-oriented interpretative notion dependent on